


A change in the painting

by Hovl



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: Dark, Gen, Mental Breakdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-02-24 00:40:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hovl/pseuds/Hovl
Summary: As Mildred Sit in Miss Cackle's office, she comes up with a plan to get Esmerelda's magic back. But is Agatha smart enough to flip this in her favour?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 3 is just some bonus content. The main story is 2 chapters.

Mildred had been left in the ever so familiar surroundings of Miss Cackle’s office after the head had been called away. She was there for a meeting following the friendship trap yesterday. Miss Cackle had lost a bit of respect from Mildred after that. It seemed reckless to force two people together until they could work together. She had heard of people who had been forced to live together and they ended up unable to do anything together. They had been friends as well. With her and Ethel, they hadn’t been friendly beforehand. She wondered whether they would have ever separated if Sybil hadn’t been in danger. 

She looked around the office. On the desk lay strewn a collection of papers and trinkets. The phone on the edge had always intrigued Mildred. Miss Cackle was the only magical person she knew who owned a phone. As far as she knew, her mum was the only person who used it to contact the school. Looking away from the desk, she saw bookcases full of books. They were very neat, especially compared to the desk. Three large windows offered a view of the ordinary town and, on a clear day, Mildred’s flat. Not that today was clear. It was raining heavily. She had hoped to do so painting outdoors. 

Then she looked at the paintings. The large one opposite the window had once housed Miss Cackle. Mildred remembered trying to release her to no avail. It had left her feeling dejected. It hadn’t been the first time that the title of the worst witch had felt accurate. Then there was the smaller one that would normally be over Miss Cackle’s right shoulder. The current home of Agatha and Miss Gullett. It hadn’t been that long ago when all this had gone down. The fallout was bigger than they first thought. She had in fact collapsed an entire wing of the school. 

Then there was the effect they knew about then. Mildred wondered how Esmerelda was doing without magic. Mildred had decided to go a weekend without using magic after the exams were over. She found it hard to do so and she had grown up without it. On top of that, she knew it would be back for Monday. She was aware that the teachers had tried to find a way to get her magic back but didn’t want to risk releasing Agatha. Esmerelda’s parents probably hadn’t tried. She hadn’t actually met them, but she had heard about Mrs Hallow’s stunt on parents evening. I wasn’t hard to tell that Ethel had also suffered from having unsympathetic parents. 

Mildred had thought of Esmerelda over the holidays. She had thought about mirroring her but feared what would happen if Ethel had found out. She hadn’t, however, thought about how to get her powers back. But, here, staring at her magic, she felt a need to find a way to get them back. She thought through what the teacher had attempted. They had prevented anyone from removing Agatha, but not anyone going into the painting. 

“Sorry about that Mildred. I understand why you feel that the trap was a bad idea.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Mildred had made a plan. She was going to take Maud and Esmerelda into the painting with her. Enid was going to wait outside the painting and take them out after ten minutes in case magic didn’t work inside the painting. She had modified the spell Agatha had use to try and steal her mother’s powers. She hadn’t been able to test it, but she was sure it would work. However, the main plan was to convince Agatha to give up her powers voluntarily. Only, Maud or herself could cast the spell and she wasn’t entirely sure that they would be able to separate the powers once they had combined. 

Now all that was left to do would be to convince people that this was a good plan. 

“No Millie. This is a terrible plan.” 

“Why Maud? What's wrong with it.” 

“Try everything Millie. I am normally all for stuff that’s not exactly in line with school rules, but this is dangerous. This is Agatha we’re talking about.” Enid had answered for her friend. Mildred had counted on Enid to help her convince Maud. 

“Agatha won’t be able to get out. The school won’t be in danger. We’ll do it during dinner so that we don’t get caught.” 

“Mildred, you, Esmerelda and I would all be in danger. Esmerelda would have the added danger of being unable to defend herself. We could be in a 2 vs 2 against someone who has had more years to have grown her magic and someone with the same power level but more experience. We would be unable to win. The fact that Enid is saying this is a bad idea should tell you just how terrible it is.” 

Mildred deflated. She could see where they were coming from. She couldn’t … she ... 

“I have to do this.” 

Enid had already found herself in uncharted territory of having to talk Mildred. Now she was questioning her. This was weird. 

“Why? Why do you have to do this?” 

“I know what it’s like to be in an unknown world. She is going to be going through so much right now.” 

Maud understood where her friend was coming from, but at the same time she couldn’t help but think that her sense of necessity was terribly out of whack. 

“Mildred, I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” 

“Me neither Mils.” 

As her friends were leaving, Mildred spoke. 

“I’m hoping that Esmerelda can come and we’ll do it at dinner today.” 

Maud shook her head. 

“Please of Millie. I don’t want you trapped.” 

“I have to.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mildred snuck into Ethel’s room during breakfast and obtained a mirror card for Esmerelda. Her friends not joining had been a huge blow. She had lost the safety net of having Enid be able to pull them out as well as Maud being there as a voice of reason. Now, if they got stuck, they would have to wait for someone to discover them and then pull them out. Mildred decide that, if Esmerelda wouldn’t come, then she would reconsider. 

She walked into the mirror room. With everyone in breakfast, there was no queue. She held the mirror card up and got her first glimpse of the Hallow mansion. The was a four-poster bed in the centre. This is where Esmerelda currently lay. She was staring up at the ceiling. There was a mahogany desk on the left wall in front of a window. Mildred couldn’t see out of it. More mahogany lined the right wall in the form of cupboards and drawers. The room itself was an off-black colour. The room was remarkably devoid of decorations. Mildred got the impression that Esmerelda’s parents had designed the room and Esmerelda wasn’t allowed to change it. 

“Hey, Esmerelda.” 

Esmerelda sat up and looked around. When she looked at the mirror, she put a puzzled expression on her face. 

“Mildred?” She got up and sat in front of the mirror. “How did you get a mirror card for me?” 

“I stole it from Ethel. I think I have a way to get your powers back.” 

Esmerelda perked up immediately before returning to her prior state of sorrow. 

“How Mildred? If the teachers can’t figure it out, then what is your plan?” 

Mildred explained her plan to Esmerelda. The older girl wasn’t entirely sure of how Mildred’s plan would work, but this was the first time that someone had offered her a way to get her powers back. She was desperate for them at this point. The holiday had been torture. She hadn’t been able to do anything. All she had done was lay in her room, eat food and whatever her parents had told her to do. For the most part, they sometimes set tasks that required magic. She wasn’t sure if this was on purpose or they just forgot she couldn’t. 

“Ok. I'll be there for dinner.” 

“I’ll see you later.” 

Mildred ended the mirror call and made some final preparations. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

As everyone made their way down to dinner, Mildred waited in her room. She was to collect Esmerelda from by the pond. From there, they would sneak into Miss Cackle’s office and then into the painting. It wasn’t long before she was outside and strolling towards where it all began. The sun was getting low at this point and cast a red sky over Cackle’s. Mildred thought that it could be a good scene to paint. She went round to the pond and saw Esmerelda waiting. 

“Well met Mildred.” 

“Well met Esmerelda. It is good to see you again.” 

“Thank you. Can we get to the painting?” Esmerelda winced at her brashness. “Sorry, I’m just excited to potentially get my magic back.” 

Mildred smiled at her. 

“Let's go.” 

They snuck through the castle. This wasn’t necessary as they didn’t meet anyone. As they were about to enter Miss Cackle’s office, a voice spoke from behind them. 

“Mildred Hubble.” The syllables were stressed and there was a certain tone of disappointment. The girls tensed up … and then relaxed as they recognised the voice as belonging to Enid. 

“Bloody hell Enid.” 

Mildred was very good with not swearing, this just almost gave her a heart attack. 

“I convinced Maud that you shouldn’t have to do this alone.” 

“I still don’t know why I let you.” 

“You can replace Enid and stay out of the painting.” 

Maud thought about it for a moment. 

“No. I can’t let Enid in there. That is a recipe for disaster.” 

“Hey!” 

“Anyway.” Esmerelda spoke to the trio. “I want to thank all of you for helping me.” 

“Save the speech for after. That's how my mother does it.” 

“Alright Enid. Let's go.” 

Entering the office, their eyes all fixed onto the picture. Their pace slowed as they walked towards in. 

“Ok Enid. You have the spell to get us out right?” 

“Yes. It is on this piece of paper.” Enid showed it to Mildred to check that it was right. 

“That’s it Enid. Remember pull us out after ten minutes if we aren’t already out. You two, hold my hands.” 

The three of them linked up as Mildred recited the spell. 

“In this painting, there are prisoners, 

Let us be their visitors.” 

The girls, minus Enid, felt their stomachs’ sink as they were sucked into the paint. Enid watched on as her friends were whisked away. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Mildred, Maud and Esmerelda landed in the great hall. It was eerily quiet. They exited out of the main door and headed in the direction of Miss Cackle’s office. 

“One second.” Maud used a quick light spell. “So magic works here. We should try to go stealthily. We don’t know where they are.” 

They continued to navigate the cold corridors of Cackles Academy Prison. It matched the normal Cackles in every detail when it was in pristine condition. Mildred even saw the same scratches that Enid had left to mark her way around the castle when she first got here. They were rounding a corner on the first floor when they came face to face with Miss Gullett. 

“Run!” The three girls screamed at the same time and took off in the direction they had come from. 

“No running in the halls. It is a health and safety risk.” 

The halls flew past them as they rushed through. Esmerelda led the younger girls through the castle as she had spent longer at the castle. Mildred looked over her shoulder as a spell flew towards her. She dunked and it crashed into the wall ahead. They skidded around the corner and found a spiral staircase. They descended to head back to where they had come from. Maud made a note to thank Miss Drill of the training. They noticed that she was gaining on them. 

“We need to find a way to get her off of us. Any idea’s Maud?” 

“Not particularly.” 

They took the first corner after the stairs to avoid a direct line of fire. The corridor they were now in however, was long and straight. Miss Gullett fired off a spell. The trio where relieved when it missed once again. This joy was short lived however, as the spell hit the ceiling and caused it to collapse. The only way out was behind Miss Gullett. 

“I’ve got you trapped new. Miss Cackle wants to see you in her office.” 

“Miss Cackle isn’t here yelled Mildred.” 

She didn’t know why she wasn’t co-operative; they had come to see her after all. It just felt right. 

“Mildred, haven’t you been taught not to talk back.” 

“I would have thought you knew me well enough to realise that I don’t necessarily do what I'm told.” 

Maud took this opportunity of the old teacher being distracted to cast a knockout spell. The spell sailed towards her before being dispelled by a protection spell. 

“Maud. I thought you would have known that that wouldn’t work.” 

She then shot the same spell back at Maud who dodged it by diving to the floor. 

“You’ll lucky that Miss Cackle has told me not to do too much damage to you. Otherwise you would all be in a terrible condition right now.” 

“Yes, but,” Mildred diverted Miss Gullett’s attention back to her. “we … um … never thought that … you would have been able to do it anyway.” 

Maud saw the fury in her eyes, so brought the attention back to herself. 

“You see Miss Gullett, you would never do anything that goes against health and safety.” 

“I’ll give you health and safe...” 

Miss Gullett had been so distracted that she hadn’t noticed Esmerelda sneak up behind her with a brick. 

“One down. Now let’s go and see Agatha.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Here it was. Miss Cackle’s office. Inside sat Agatha. The current vessel for Esmerelda’s magic. Their goal. 

“How long do we have?” Mildred hoped that either of her companions had taken note of the time they entered. 

“We should have been out two minutes ago.” Maud proved to be the one with her head screwed on. 

“Well let’s hope that she doesn’t pull us out now.” 

Mildred went to knock on the door before being stopped by Esmerelda who opened the door and walked in. 

“Hello Agatha.” 

“Esmerelda. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting you when I felt someone enter. Mildred, Maud. I presume this was your idea Mildred?” 

“It doesn’t matter if it was my idea Agatha. It only …” 

“I’d ask what brought you here, but that is obvious. Does my dear sister know you’re here?” 

Esmerelda took control of the conversation back from Mildred. 

“I am going to get my magic back today. It is just a question of how co-operative you are going to be.” 

“Interesting. The way I see it I hold the power here. Quick literally. You gave it to me.” 

Esmerelda gritted her teach. 

“How’s Ethel doing. I was very unhappy when she decided to flip sides.” 

“What are you doing with it in here? Let me put it to use.” 

“Or, you could let me out and I could use them.” 

Esmerelda had a thought. She decided that this was her only chance. If this didn’t work, nothing would, and she would have to get Mildred to take them. 

“The only way you are getting out of this picture is if you no longer have my magic.” 

She saw Agatha cock her head; a sign that she was considering it. 

“I don’t see a reason for them to keep you in here if you don’t have magic.” 

This was a lie. She had shown the damage she could do without magic, but if it would get Esmerelda her magic back, then it was worth a shot. 

“Alright. I’ll do it.” 

“Alright. It worked.” 

Mildred was more confident than both Maud and Esmerelda. They wouldn’t be satisfied until Esmerelda was a witch once more. Esmerelda took hold of Agatha’s hands; she had more than a hint of distrust in her eye. 

“I, Agatha Cackle, freely gift my witches’ powers to the one with whom I stand.” 

Mildred and Maud watched on as the magic was transferred to Esmerelda. This was it. Esmerelda had her magic back. The plan had worked. Esmerelda turned around to them, a huge smile on her face. Mildred went to speak, but Esmerelda sent a spell at her. 

“Esmerelda, what are you doing?” 

She was sending all kinds of spells at them. Maud recognised most of them. They were mostly small spells, knock-out spells, small lacerations that kind of spell. However, they were occasionally more severe spells, ones that cause immense pain or make you forget who you are. Maud and Mildred were forced to take shelter behind bookshelves as the spell kept coming. 

“She is doing what I want her to Mildred. It did work. It worked exactly as I planned. Now, Esmerelda, what do you say you finish this off.” 

Esmerelda gave a nod before continuing her barrage of spells. Mildred and Maud were running out of hiding places and needed to get out of the room. 

“Mildred, get us out of the picture.” 

“We’ll bring Esmerelda with us.” 

“Just do it.” 

Mildred started the spell, but she didn’t get to complete it as she was hit by a spell. Mildred fell to the floor in a pile. Maud had recognised that spell as well. It was the killing curse. Mildred was dead. She wasn’t coming back. Maud looked down at her friend’s corpse. She didn’t cry; she was too shocked. Mildred’s plan had gotten her killed. Esmerelda walked over to Maud. 

“Esmerelda, please.” Maud was unable to avoid the killing curse that came her way.


	2. Chapter 2

Enid was looking out of the window . It really was a beautiful day. That was when she heard that her alarm was going of f. She didn’t know how long it had been going off, but this was bad. They should have been out by now. Walking over to the picture,  she started the incantation.

“With visiting times now over,

Let my friends crossover.”

Enid watched as only Esmerelda returned.

“I’m sorry. What happened? Where are Millie and Maud? What the …" Enid managed to leap out of the way  a s the spell passed by . “Did you kill them? Please tell me you didn’t kill …" Enid had managed to dodge the blasting ch arm that was sent her way. She watched it break the railing. The explosion distracted her so that she didn’t  see the follow up spell. Enid too lay unmoving on the floor.

Esmerelda  walked out of the office. Dinner would be ending  soon and she wanted to cause as much damage as possible. She  wondered down the corridor toward the roof of the dining hall. She  stored up her magic before casting an annihilate spell on the roof. She listened for the  shrieks down below as girls ran for the exits to avoid the falling debris. She watched as they gathered on the  wit chball courts. This was too easy. 

She sent a fireball into the centre of the crowd. The explosion  threw many of the girls back. On top of that, it threw the charcoaled bodies of those unfortunate enough to be near the epicentre into the air. Those who were close but not  dead had burns all over their bodies. Esmerelda was unaware how deep they were, but the spell had been designed to be as hot as possib le. This meant that there was a strong possibility that the nerve ending s in their bodies had been destroyed.

Esmerelda transferred down. She wondered who her next target would be when she saw Miss Cackle t rying to calm down the girls. If she could get the headmistress, then there would be no chance at order. She came up behind the teacher and sent everything  she had at her. Severing charms, burning spell s and spell s to cause unimaginable pain. They all bounced of the head’s protections. Miss Cackle turned around.

“Esmerelda?”

This was the last thing she heard before she felt a spell hit her back, her own protections failing.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Esmerelda woke up in hospital. She couldn’t remember what happened. She couldn’t see it clearly. There was fire, the r oof had collapsed. She had tried to get her powers back with Mildred and Maud. Enid had stayed behind to pull them out . Bit and pieces were coming back to Esmerelda. She looked around the ward she  was in and saw that it didn’t look like a normal hos pital. Hospitals were normally … she didn’t know, but this was not it.  She tried to sit up and that’s when she noticed that she had been handcuffed to the bed. Why was she handcuffed? What had happened that night ? Oh god.

Esmerelda burst out crying. What had she done? She had killed them; Mildred, Maud, Enid ,  all of the girls on the courts. What if she had killed her sisters. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself. She thought of the charred remains of her sisters. Why? Why did she do this? She had heard of non-witches getting magic and going crazy, but that happened over time.  She remembered the day perfectly now. She had been so happy when Mildred said she had a plan to get her magic back;  now she lay dead in the picture. She had been grateful when  Maud and Enid had turned up to help; now they too lay dead. She had thought about the friends who sh e had hoped to return to with her magic; now they were dead or burnt. And her sisters. She had to  get to her sister s . She had to know that she hadn’t killed them.

She went to get off the bed, but the handcuffs kept her chained to it. No! She  had to get to her sisters. She tried to shake the cuffs off. She pulled them, but all she did was  hurt her wrists. She started shaking the bed. As she let out a scree ch to be proud of, the two guards outside of the room came in.

“You need to calm down girl.”

“I need to see my sisters. I need to know that they’re alive. That I didn’t kill them.”

She continued to fight against the restraints. When the guards grabbed her and tried t o get her back on the bed.

“ Girl , if you don’t calm  down, we are going to have to sedate you .”

“I. Need. To. See. My. Sisters.”

She was angry at them for not listening to her . She now found herself attempting to punch them. Her attempts were foiled by way of  being attached to the bed. She swung the entire bed around to try and hit them.

“Doctor.”

Esmerelda then took the bed and started making her way towards the door. The two guards quickly got to their feet as a doctor came in with a needle. Esmerelda started fighting harder as the guards restrained her to allow the doctor a clean shot. The guards were much stronger than her and the doctor managed to get the  sedatives into her s ystem . As she passed out, she tries to crawl towards to door.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Esmerelda woke up again. She was crying again within seconds.

“No. Please. Please.”

“Esmerelda, you need to calm down. You are okay.” Miss Cackle was sitting beside her.

“Why? Why are you here. I tried to kill you. I … I"

“That wasn’t you Esmerelda. Agatha put a curse on you magic. If it was you, you would still be handcuffed to the bed. ”

She looked at her wrists. There were red marks from her escape attempts, but no handcuffs.

“My sisters. I need to see my sisters.”

She got up to leave but Miss Cackle kept her down.

“Esmerelda . You cannot see them in this state.”

Esmerelda sat back down. She didn’t know why Miss Cackle had that effect of her; maybe it was because Esmerelda felt that she owed her for attem p ting to kill her . She tried to use magic to fix herself.

“Unfortunately, they have had to take your magic away to get rid of the curse. You will get it back.”

She didn’t know if she wanted it back. Not after what she had done.

“Mildred, Maud, Enid.”

Miss Cackle looked at her feet. “Enid is dead I'm afraid. We cannot find  Mildred or Maud I'm afraid.”

“The painting. They're in the painting.”

Everything clicked for Miss Cackle. She got out her  maglet and sent a message back to Cackles to search in the painting. The door opened and two police officers walked in.

“I’ll see you later Esmerelda.”

She wa tch ed as her former head left . The policemen sat beside her. One sat directly in front of her while the other sat to his left.

“I know this is a terrible time for you , but we need to know what happened. Start from when you first decided to get your magic back.”

Esmerelda nodded before thinking back to the mirror call.

“I was  lying in bed that morning.”

“ So you only knew you were going to get your magic back that morning?” The young officer off to the right spoke. She had a notepad in hand.

“Donna. You should only ask questions after the story.”

“Sorry.”

Esmerelda wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t answered the call. Nothing. Nothing would have happened and that would be fine.

“Yes. I received a mirror call from Mildred. She said she had a plan to get my magic back. I was so excited. I didn’t think enough about whether it was a good plan. I walked to Cackles immediately. Mildred  came to get me at dinner, and we went to Miss Cackles office.”

The memories were bittersweet now. She had been so excited, but now she knew the outcome.

“Mildred’s friends Maud and Enid came to help. They weren’t originally going to , but Mildred had  initially planned for them to, so we used the original plan. Enid was supposed to pull us out after ten minutes .”

Esmerelda started to breathe deeply as she got closer to where it went wrong.

“We arrived in the dining hall before trying to get to Agatha. Miss Gullett found us and tried to take us to Agatha , or Miss Cackle as she called her. She chased  us through the corridors before causing a collapse and cornering us.”

She thought about what had happened next. Was this the beginning of her turn? She had done that  without this ‘curse’. 

“I  knocked her out with a brick after Mildred and Maud distracted her. When  we entered her office, we tried to convince her to give back my … my magic.”

She started to stutter.

“We con...convinced her to … give it back. After she did I … I … I.”

Esmerelda wept uncontrollably. This was where it had happened. She couldn’t do this.

“It’s okay Esmerelda. Take your time.”

It was a couple of minutes before she could speak again.

“I attack them. I killed them. And then I killed Enid and then …"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \---

Esmerelda had taken over an hour to tell the story properly.  Once the police had left, Miss Cackle came back in. After another hour , Esmerelda was calm enough to be allowed to see her sisters.

“How bad are they Miss Cackle?”

“Ethel was pinned under rubble from when the roof collapsed. It cut off blood supply to her arm.  T he doctors had to amputate it.”

Esmerelda went back to the bed as her legs turned to jelly.  She tried to throw up, but her stomach was empty. She had taken her sisters arm. She wouldn’t be able to cast spells very well. She had basically taken her sister’s magic from  her.

“And Sybil?”

“She was near the centre of the fireball. The doctor say that she will live, but there may very well be nerve damage. She will  have to stay in the hospital for maybe a year.”

Esmerelda stop crying. She stopped anything. She … her … no. She passed out.

She dreamt of her sisters. Ethel casting a spell. With only one hand, it didn’t form correctly and blasted into the wall. The wall fell apart and brought the ceiling down. It crushed Ethel . She thought of her sister being unable to breathe with the weight of debris on her chest. Watch ed on as her sister turn ed bl ue  before passing out and dying.

Sybil l ying in a hospital bed. Alone. Her body more like charcoal than flesh. There were spells e v e rywhere to sustain her while she was unable to do so herself. One of the lanterns on the wall fell off.  It lit the entire room on fire. She heard her sister's cries for help as  the fire overtook her body. The screams grew loude r and louder before ceasing forever.

She woke up covered in sweat and tears . Her whole body was shaking in fear. What if that happened. She didn’t know if she could see them. How would they react? Would they want her a fter what she did? She started to  hyperventilate . She couldn’t do this . A doctor came in and gave her some oxygen to help her breathe.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Esmerelda didn’t know how long it had been, but she was going to see Ethel. She was  escorted to the door of a room and ushered her inside . Her parents were also in the room. She  looked at Ethel. She had a face of anger; Esmerelda was unsure what this anger was towards. Her  ho spit al gown’s sleeve hung loosely over her right shoulder; there was no arm there to give it shape.

“Get out Esme. I don’t want to see you.”

“Ethel, please. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just ... just”

“You got selfish and look what it cost.” She turned to show where her arm would have been. “If you had n’t followed Mildred, none of this would have happened. ”

“I just wanted to be able to come to school with you and Sybil.”

“Well that isn’t going to happen. I can’t go to school now. You have seen to that.”

This hurt Esmerelda more than she would admit. She had been blaming herself, but hearing Ethel say it made it  more true . She  wasn’t able to defend  herself because she held the same belief. She didn’t know what she wanted Ethel to do. It  definitely wasn’t this.

“I didn’t want this. I …"

“You don’t get to want anything anymore.”

Mrs Hallow butted into the  conversation .

“You are a disgrace to the name of Hallow. You have raked the name through the mud . Get out.”

Esmerelda left and sat on the floor. She stared at the wall as she processed what had just happened. Her family was in ruins because of her.  S he  had no one to blame but herself. If she hadn’t followed Mildred, everything would be fine. She could have lived without magic, but she got greedy and had  fucked everything up. For everyone. She had killed people and she only cared about her own family. The curse clearly had n othing to do with it. She hit her head against the wall. Pain seared across her skull. She deserved  it. A small  comeuppance for all the trouble. She  continued to do so until a doctor came and stopped her.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Esmerelda waited outside of Sybil’s door.  She could n’t bring herself to go in. Esmerelda wanted to leave  Sybil’s  condition up to her imagination . No. She would have to see her sister at some point. She made a promise to herself that, if Sybil didn’t want her there, she would leave.

Sybil was on the bed. She was barely recognisable . Nearly every inch of her skin was covered in burns and blisters. There w as significant charring to her body that made it seem as though she had been up a chimney.  She had no hair; that had been incinerated immediately.  Half of her face looked like it had melted off. Esmerelda could only tell it was Sybil because of her eyes.

“Hey Esme.” Her voice was weak. As she went to move, the pain made her fall back.  “How are you .”

Esmerelda found herself staring. Seeing Sybil’s petite frame so … so. It was too much  for her.

“I’m … I’m sorry.” Once again, tears escaped her in droves.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. This isn’t your fault. ”

“I’m sorry.” Esmerelda felt her  back press up against the wall of the room .

“No Esme don’t be. Agatha took control of your  body. She is the one who did this. Not you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sybil began to cry. She didn’t want her sister to blame herself. To Sybil, this was all on Agatha.

“Please don’t. I want you to be able to enjoy life .”

Esmerelda just slid down the wall repeating I'm sorry. Sybil was stuck in her bed. She wanted to get out and co m fort her siste r, but that was impossible. She was going  to be in bed for months.  That's how they stayed until a doctor came in a took Esmerelda back to her room.

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It had been a year. Esmerelda sat on the floor facing  the beige wall. Her bed in the corner was a mess. Her draws were  open with clothes hanging out. She rocked back and forth as she spoke. “I’m sorry. I'm sorry.”

A knock came from the door . A wom a n in grey clothes poke her head through the doorway.

“Hey, Esmerelda. You have a visitor.”

“Hello Esme.”

Sybil walked through the door and sat down next to her . She was looking more like herself now. The burns had left scars that not even magic would  heal but had mostly cleared up .  Her hair was wispy but had started to grow back.  After not receiving any acknowledgement, she continued.

“ I was released from hospital today. Mum and Dad have been fussing over me. I suspect that they are just happy to ha v e someone els e in the house. They didn’t take Ethel’s suicide very well.”

Sybil had come here a couple of times. It didn’t make it any easier to only here ‘I’m sorry’.  It broke Sybil that this is what her sister had become. She had been so intelligent and caring. Everyone was thinking that she would be head girl.

“So, Mildred’s mum killed Agatha. It looks as though t here is nothing the Great Wizard can do either . Neither of them  are witches.  Apparently, it is annoying him to no end.”

Sybil talked to Esmerelda for well over an hour . Updating her on whatever she could thinking of.

“I’m sorry Sybil but you are going to have to leave now.”

“That’s ok Jasmine. I'll talk to you again soon Esme.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry


	3. Chapter 3

Cackle’s in Chaos!

Today there was an attack at Cackle’s academy . It is believed that the perpetrator is a former student  who was disgruntled at the school for being expelled. The attack took place in three different locations. A student was killed in Miss Cackle’s office. From there, she collapsed the roof of the dining hall trapping several people  under debris .  The final act was  a fireball on the  witchball courts. This attack came to an end when the student went to att a ck Miss Cackle and the deputy  Miss  Hardbroom knocked her unconscious .

This attack led to the deaths of  2 6 p upils and one teacher.  Furthermore , there are six pupils in critical  condition in hospital as well as two  who are unaccounted for. The teacher was Dimity Drill. She taught games and flying at Cackle’s . She was also an athlete known as the star of the sky before an injury forced her to retire. She is being hailed as a hero as she stayed behind in the dining hall helping students escape. She is directly  responsible for saving at least 5 girls from the debris.

When asked, one of the older kids said, “It was horrible. When the roof came down , we thought it was just due to  structural damage. But then, when the fireball exploded, we realised that something was very wrong.  Bodies were thrown into the air.” 

When asked for a comment, the police said. “This is being treated as a terrorist incident.” They declined to comment  further as it is an ongoing investigation. Cackles academy refused  to comment on it.

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It’s an outrage.

The person responsible of the attack on Cackle’s academy has been cleared of all charges. Esmerelda Hallow, daughter of the Secretary of  E ducation, Ursula Hallow, and  governor of Cackles, Triton Hallow , is no longer in custody. Everybody at the scene has named Esmerelda as the culprit , so how she has gotten off is unclear. The Hallows have enough money to pay anyone off they would need .

Esmerelda’s body count has increased to 31 after two of the pupils in  critical condition succumbed to the i r injuries and the bodies of the two missing students were found. It is an outrage that she is going to walk away without punishment after the atrocities she has committed. There are petitions to reverse this obvious  miscarriage of justice.

It is believed that both of Esmerelda’s sisters are in hospital was serious injuries. If Esmerelda does ultimately get off, we can only hope that they can add to the statistics so that there is  some punishment for Esmerelda and the parents of the young girls who lost their li v es get some closure.

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The real story of Cackles

We would like to apologise to Esmerelda Hallow and her family for our article entitled  ‘It’s an outrage!’.  It is clear that both the levels of research and journalistic integrity fell well below the level that is acceptable . To Esmerelda , we apologise for jumping the gun. The reasons for her release will be explained below. To Mr  and Mrs Hallow, we apologise for suggesting that you paid off officials to  ensure that Esmerelda wasn’t convicted. To Ethel and Sybil, we apologise for wishing death upon you . To our readers, we apologise for failing to deliver high quality journalism.

Esmerelda lost her magic to Agatha Cackle at the end of the last school year. Agatha was then trapped in a portrait and so Esmerelda had to live without it . The morning of the attack, another student  called Mildred Hubble called her with a way to get her magic back. They entered the portrait alongside Maud  Spellbody wi th Enid Nightshade, daughter of Narcissus and Nathaniel Nightshade, waiting outside to pull them  out. Unfortunately, Agatha put a curse on Esmerelda’s magic which caused her to kill people. Mildred  and Maud, who were the missing students as they were still in the picture, were the first deaths along with Enid. Esmerelda had no control over her actions which is why she has been released.

We are unable to ascertain what is going to happen to Agatha now that she has been named as the culprit. In other sad news,  another student has died increasing the death toll to 32.


End file.
